Fishburne makes 'CSI' debut

Tuesday

Feb 3, 2009 at 7:08 AMFeb 3, 2009 at 7:10 AM

STAR TRIBUNE (MINNEAPOLIS)

LOS ANGELES • During a press conference last month on the sprawling set of "CSI," a journalist with obviously little regard for his own wellbeing asked Laurence Fishburne if he was intimidated by the notion of joining TV's top-rated drama.

"No," the actor smoothly replied with the rich, booming baritone that inspired the downtrodden to rise up against the machines in "The Matrix" and frightened the funk out of Tina Turner in "What's Love Got to Do With It?"

His brief response hung in the air for a few awkward seconds until both cast and reporters burst into laughter.

"It's Laurence Fishburne, man," someone cracked.

You bet it is. And that may prove problematic. Fishburne, whose last regular TV gig consisted of galloping around "Pee Wee's Playhouse" in a cowboy outfit, is stepping in for lead actor William Petersen, who left the 1 series after 8 /2 years to dedicate more time to tackling theater roles and, presumably, rolling around in the mountains of money he collected as both star and executive producer.

Petersen never received much critical praise for his performance as Gil Grissom, an unkempt, self-contained Sherlock Holmes with an unhealthy curiosity toward insects, but his understated approach established the mood of the series.

Fishburne's character, Raymond Langston, a professor who lectured on the criminal mind before joining the team as an investigator, is decidedly different in both tone and posture. (Fishburne can't help but look 7 feet tall and fully prepared to snap the neck of anyone who challenges his authority.)

The contrast between the two performances was most apparent in Petersen's final episode, when the two teamed up to stop a serial killer. Langston, frustrated by the slow pace of forensics, decided to play a mind trick on a key accomplice, hoping the man would slip and reveal the whereabouts of the murderer. Grissom, on the other hand, headed to the lab to locate the site by analyzing the position of the moon from various photos.

In any other detective series, the showier approach would save the day, but in "CSI," it's the methodical, scientific route that has always led to the bad guy. Langston got outwitted by the would-be sap.

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